Hello,
Looking to cruise the Rhine starting in either Mainz or Rudesheim and ending in St. Goar. After the cruise we would most likely take the train back to explore the towns.
What are some must see places , explore etc. Willing to hike to a great vantage point or even a unique restaurant or pub to enjoy the views with wine.
Knowing there are so many winery's along the river we would like to stop in and visit one but having a hard time narrowing it down. Any suggestions?
Thanks in Advance
Oberwesel is a fine place to visit with interests like yours. Catch the train there (5 minutes from St. Goar) on your way back to Mainz. Walk the historic town wall and/or hike through the vineyards north of town to the Günderodehaus, which offers light meals, wine and other beverages with a view and once served as a backdrop for a well-known German TV mini-series called Heimat.
You might be staying in Mainz, but it tends to be wasteful of time and Euros to begin a cruise there. I'd take the train first to Bingen and board there, where the superior scenery starts.
Cruise opportunities are in jeopardy at present; rainfall has been minimal, river levels are low, and boats are being cancelled left and right. When's your trip? Anytime would be better than right now, I think.
We are going the beginning of October.
I was wondering about the train to Bingen then a ferry to Rudesheim? or can you catch the KD boat at Bingen to start.
I don't think the passenger ferries across the river are currently running in Bingen, and the Rhine cruises do call at Bingen anyway, so you can start from there.
There are TWO ferry crossings between Bingen and Rüdesheim, but the one for foot passengers, in a convenient location near the town center, is non-operational at present - and the one that's primarily for cars is located well upstream from town in a pedestrian-unfriendly location. Not a good place for crossing the river right now.
If you WANT to visit Rüdesheim, you could easily take the TRAIN there first, then cruise from there. If not, it's a good bit quicker to just catch the train to Bingen and cruise from there.
Start in Rüdesheim if you want a seat on top of the deck. If you wait until Bingen, all the good seats are taken. This has been my experience, and I have taken these ships dozens of times.
Towns I like to visit: St. Goar and Burg Rheinfels, Bacharach, Ober-Wesel, Rüdeshiem, and farther down if you are going by train - Eltville.
For wine tasting, there are a ton of places in Rüdesheim, but the most fun is this place: RheinWeinWelt, directly across from the train station in the old Asbach Factory. Choose from about 120 wines, from 76 Rheingau vineyards. Great food here too and the experience is really unique.
https://www.rheinweinwelt.de/en/
Thank you for the info Ms Jo! Might have to finish the boat tour at the Rudesheim to enjoy the 120 Wines at RheinWeinWelt !
Would be wise to start the boat ride in Mainz cause where we are staying there or just meet it in Rudesheim?
Would be wise to start the boat ride in Mainz cause where we are staying there or just meet it in Rudesheim?
You are not allowing for how dramatically faster the train is than the boat, even when it is going downstream (i.e. from Bingen ...) Your starting point is almost irrelevant if you use the train to get there. Perhaps if you have your luggage, the distance from the train to the KD dock could be annoying - for example in Bingen. Also, Bingen has two train stations, i think.
Yes, Bingen has two stations, Bingen Hbf and Bingen Stadtbhf. Bingen Hbf is the larger station and hub for trains from Mainz going to Kobenz or Kaiserslautern. Bingen Stadt is a smaller, a through station, not a hub. It's east of Bingen Hbf, across the river Nahe, a tributary of the Rhein, from Bingen Hbf. The K-D dock is a short walk (about ¼ mi) from Bingen-Stadtbhf. If you want to go on the K-D boats, you want to get off at Bingen Stadtbhf, not Bingen Hbf
This is old but still accurate:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/to-the-west/kd-rhine-questions
